"Rebecca said I should come talk to you, but I don't see a point. You're in a coma or something and I have no idea what I'm supposed to talk to you about. You probably don't even know who the fuck I am." Yolanda said from the foot of Fuse's bed.
He was smaller than she remembered, but Sebastian had explained that without the recovery pods to sustain him, his body would deteriorate quickly. The Program's enhancements boosted his metabolism, which fueled how his body healed and recovered from injury, though the doctor couldn't explain the specifics.
Seeing him look more like a child than he had the last time they encountered one another made her angry and she had to hold onto the footboard to keep herself from hitting him. "All of this to protect that girl. You didn't owe her a thing, but you turned your back on all of us like we never mattered! And now we're all either dead or trapped! Well, I hope you never wake up you selfish fuck! I hope you die in that bed so I can laugh when they burn your body and hand the bucket of ashes to her!"
Her entire body seemed to heave and her hold on the footboard was the only thing keeping her on her feet as she sobbed. "You're not supposed to be here." She said shakily. "You're not supposed-"
Circling around to where his head was, she slapped him. "Wake up and tell us what we're supposed to do! You always know better than us, so wake up and give us our orders!"
She raised her hand again, but left it fall to her side and sat down on the stool. "Lin's awake. Like, properly awake. She spends most of her time crying and when she actually sleeps, all she does is say your name. Like it's some kind of magic spell or something. I don't get it. You barely know each other. I know you saved her life and nearly died half a dozen times, but how does that translate into whatever it is between the two of you?" She sighed and got to her feet. "It's actually kind of painful to be around her, so even if you're not you, you should wake up soon. It'd do her good to have something to do besides be miserable."
She left the room and after pausing to wipe her face, started down the hallway. After rounding the corner near the elevator, she saw Rebecca and Lin sprinting toward her. "What's happening?"
"Attack on the ground floor. Someone from the GA." Rebecca said breathlessly. "We think it's one of the Program kids."
"Give me your gun." She said, reaching into Rebecca's coat and pulling the weapon free. "Get to Fuse's room and bar the door. Where's Clint and Eve?"
"Already heading down." Rebecca said, pushing Lin forward.
"Good." She said and took a step before stopping and looking back. "Lin!"
The small teen turned and gave her a surprised look.
"Look after our boy, okay?" She said firmly. "I'll look after the rest of them."
"O-Okay!" Lin said unsteadily, turning and heading down the hallway with renewed purpose.
"Thank you." Rebecca said, then chased after her.
Yolanda scoffed. "Don't thank me yet, idiot. I'll probably die in two seconds."
~
Veronica scowled at the freighter as they walked over to it.
"Hey, don't complain." Tim warned. "It was the best I could do with what you offered. They usually don't get that close to the Spire."
"I don't care about the conditions. I was just remembering how much I abhor being seasick."
He laughed. "Well, I've never been on a boat before. I'm kind of excited."
"You speak so much like an adult, I forget you're still a kid."
His laugh faded and a serious look crossed his face. "I was also dead for ten years."
"That too." She muttered. "But let's not announce all that business too loud from now on."
"Copy. Just a mother and son smuggling themselves to another country on a transport ship. Nothing suspicious about that at all."
"Less suspicious than a experimental child soldier and former chief of a fallen company branch with enemies all over the continent."
He laughed again, but it wasn't as natural as before and she suspected that it was for purely for her benefit. The man who helped them seemed affable as he showed them to the container he'd picked out for them to stay in.
"It's gonna get hot in here, but overnight you'll freeze. There's some holes drilled into it, so you might catch some breeze, but your best bet is to just get used to being miserable." He said.
"It's a three day journey, I'm sure we'll be fine. The captain knows he's passing close?" Veronica asked.
"Yep. And don't worry, you aren't the first we've taken. He doesn't ask questions so long as he gets paid."
Veronica nodded and stepped into the container. Tim followed suit and the door was shut and latched in place. She found a ray of light toward the back of the container and sat down just to the side of it. "What do you think?" She asked quietly.
Tim nodded. "Definitely plans on killing us."
She smiled coldly. "Good."
Tim set the bag down in the light and began unpacking it. Veronica checked her weapon before taking the extra magazines from Tim and slipping them into the pockets of her jacket while he began assembling a large rifle. "First time on a boat and I get to be a pirate." He murmured.
"Just don't throw up once we start."
"I didn't eat breakfast today for that reason." He said with a smirk.
~
"Was this what it was like going up against Fuse?" Clint asked, slamming his last clip into his pistol.
Eve groaned. "Not even close. We'd already be dead if it was him."
"Well, good. That means we have a chance." He said, darting around the pillar, firing a few shots before diving behind a desk.
The blonde shook off getting shot like it didn't bother her and glared at Eve, who was struggling to get to her feet. "Not much of one."
"DOWN!"
Eve instinctively ducked as Yolanda leapt over her, firing rapidly, then sliding between the woman's legs to try and get a shot at her back. But their opponent swung around too quickly and brought her massive hammer down.
Only Clint shooting her in the shoulder kept Yolanda from being crushed and gave her time to roll out of the way and get to her feet, but the back of the hammer collided with her ribs and sent her flying into the elevator door. The gun slid from her fingers and hit the ground before she did, blood pouring from her mouth.
"Cover me!" Clint shouted, tossing his gun to Eve and making a dash across the lobby toward Yolanda.
Eve caught the weapon and fired two shots aimed for the blonde's head, but she ducked under them faster than a blink and charged toward Clint.
"Fuck! Clint!" She shouted, emptying the magazine to no effect and running forward as well.
Eve managed to slide in front and wrap herself around her legs, tripping her. But she controlled the fall and used the added weight from the hammer to crush Eve's ribs, forcing the woman to release her.
Clint just managed to get Yolanda on his shoulder when he saw the hammer coming for his head, only to stop just as it touched him. The woman stumbled backward, dropping the hammer to clutch her head in her hands. What sounded like a silent scream escaped her and she dropped to the ground, then began slamming her head into it until falling still.
Clint stared at the scene in a bewildered shock. "What the fuck?"
"I can walk, hero." Yolanda muttered from his shoulder.
He gently set her down, then had to grab hold of her to keep her from falling. Once she was steady, she nodded and took a few unsteady steps away from him to lean on a wall. "Check Eve. She hasn't moved since..."
"Yeah." He replied, kneeling down and checking her pulse. "Eve, you still with us?"
"Barely." She breathed.
"Yolanda, see if those phones still work and call up to the medical floor." He said, looking over at her, but she had slid down the wall and was unconscious. "Guess I'll do it."
~
Clint stared down as the teen opened her eyes and began struggling against the steel belts that practically mummified her and held her pinned to the table. "Yeah, sorry that it's not more comfortable. But we figure you're nearly as strong as Fuse is, so we couldn't take any chances."
Her eyes were wild as she glared at him in impotent rage. He sighed and pulled the chair closer before sitting down in it. "I know you can't speak. Doc already confirmed that when he gave you a once over. But I'm gonna ask some questions anyway, and I need you to answer them." He held up a black device. "They had this in your head. Nasty piece of work. Basically shocked your brain anytime you thought too much. That's the simple explanation, anyway. So, while you're struggling, just remember that we cut into your skull. You heal fast, but bone still takes a few days to harden back up. You understand what I'm saying?"
Her face turned red as she gnashed her teeth angrily at him. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Figured as much. Bex told me you were basically just a bag of crazy and super strength."
He drew his gun and pressed it to her temple. "What if I shot you right now? Just emptied this thing into your head? Would that calm you down?"
Her eyes locked onto his hand, a sort of frenzied desperation overcame her and she rocked her head into the barrel repeatedly, grunting softly at it. Clint's finger slowly squeezed down on the trigger until it clicked. Her eyes widened for a second before closing. When they opened, she was feral again.
"That's what I thought." He muttered, setting the gun down and picking up an injector. He pressed it to her neck and her eyes glazed over, tearing up as she breathed in relief. "Can you understand me now?"
Lazily she looked over at him and he took that as an affirmation. "Here's the deal, young lady, the doc did a scan on your brain and he found two distinct brainwaves in there. Apparently that's playing havoc on your psyche. That's what's making you lose it. Problem is, the doc can't determine which of those brainwaves is you. And we can't do anything while you're drugged up."
Her eyes cleared slightly and she nodded her understanding.
"We're gonna get you set up in the lab in a few minutes. When that downer wears off, you have to try and stay lucid. It's the only way we can help you, understand?"
She nodded again. Clint set the injector down. "You understand what I said, but do you think you can?"
She mouthed two words to him and he leaned back in his chair and studied her for several seconds.
"You'll try. If that's the best we can hope for, then so be it." He said, grabbing the gun and standing up. "If you can't keep it straight or you're too far gone, you want me to put you back under?"
Her eyes locked onto the weapon, then back on his face. He nodded. "Understood. Alright, she's ready."
~
"REBECCA! EVE!" Lin screamed as she burst through the door, her voice cracking from strain. "He's awake!"
Eve gave her a weak smile from the bed while Rebecca shot up from her chair and followed Lin down the hall toward the room where they'd been keeping him. Just before Lin could push through the door, she grabbed her arm.
"Lin, hold on a second." She said. "Look, there's a very real possibility that-"
"I don't care. He came back to me, like he promised he would. I can take care of the rest." She said, pulling free and pressing the button.
Rebecca hadn't been to see him since her initial visit with the violet haired woman, but the teen she saw laying on the bed hardly resembled the same person. He was about half the size he used to be and had a terrified expression on his face.
"Do you recognize either of them, Kurokawa?" Sebastian asked gently, furthering Rebecca's shock.
Fuse shook his head and gave a slight whimper as Lin moved closer, almost flinching away from her. Undeterred, she approached him and held her hand out. "It's okay."
Her voice was barely a whisper, but she smiled more brilliantly than Rebecca thought possible for the girl who'd spent nearly three weeks consumed with grief. Fuse studied her carefully, looking from her hand to her face and back again. Then, slowly, he set his hand in hers and moved his mouth, making weak sounds.
"He can understand us, but his ability to speak is still recovering." Sebastian said quietly, having moved to stand next to Rebecca.
"I'm Lin." The teen said. "I'm going to take care of you until you're better. Is that okay?"
He nodded shakily, his mouth working again, but couldn't make the words come out and his eyes began watering. It tore at Rebecca's heart to see him struggle, but Lin took it in stride, wrapping her arms around his head and pulled him to her chest. His eyes widened for a second, then slid shut. All the tension leaving his body as she held onto him.
Sebastian nudged Rebecca and gestured for her to follow him out into the hall. She gave the scene one more look before backing out of the room. "I'm not sure what I expected, but that wasn't it."
"It's not uncommon for those with memory loss to have a kind of instinctive memory of certain things. But that's a good sign for him." Sebastian said. "Tells us he isn't as far gone as I had thought he might be."
"He's so small." Rebecca murmured, looking through the window. "I mean, you said it would happen, but still."
Sebastian sighed in annoyance. "Yes, the bulk is gone, but with what my brother did, he's lost none of his strength. The muscle fibers simply adjusted to the lack of activity and nutrition and became denser. It defies logical explanation and my medical knowledge."
"Fitzsimmons called him 'flawed product'. Maybe whatever they did to him in the Program had some kind of effect that they didn't know about?"
He shrugged. "I really don't know. The other girl is recovering in a way that's on track with what I understand about them. She's faster than Fuse is, but it feels more normal. I can't use either of them as a baseline for the other."
"Were you able to help Halo?"
"I believe so, but time will tell." He said. "You can take him to your apartment to finish recovering. Just make sure you treat him like glass, because he very much is right now."
"Thanks, Doctor."
He made a noise of acknowledgement and strode away, leaving her to watch through the window as Lin played a simple hand game with him that Eve had taught her. She wasn't playing it right, but Rebecca suspected that didn't matter much given that Lin had finally been reunited with the person most important to her.
~
Fuse was snoring gently, his head resting in Lin's lap while she rubbed his back as she nodded off. Eve and Rebecca sipped coffee, sharing looks of amusement every time they heard Yolanda's roaring snore echo off the walls.
"How're your ribs?" Rebecca asked.
The woman sighed contentedly. "This country has amazing painkillers. But I won't be running much and the concussion hasn't fully worn off yet, but they're feeling better. I still can't believe that's the same Fuse, though."
"Yeah." Rebecca murmured, looking over at the pair on the sofa. "It's so hard to reconcile in my mind that that's him. He looks so small compared to the giant I've seen him as. But seeing him curled up like that all peaceful, it's almost like he's that three year old again."
"He's been a soldier most of his life. Practically lived on the front, was always on missions. Nobody in the whole of the military was in the field more than he was." Eve said. "His mind might not be there, but those instincts still are. It might be why he's so calm around her. He can feel that we're all dangerous in some way. It has to be like a constant assault on his senses, y'know? But she's never been a threat to him. His body remembers being able to relax around her." She shrugged. "I'm just guessing, though. I could be so far gone that I'm not even in the solar system with that."
"It's a good guess." Rebecca said, smiling gently at the woman. "I have a feeling that it comes from personal experience, though."
Eve's cheeks turned pink and she stared down at her coffee cup. "She's my second chance."
"What do you mean?"
"You never looked deep into my file, did you?" She asked. "I had a baby brother. Our parents were never around, so I practically raised him. But I felt... trapped. So when they were home one night, I ran away. Trained as a nurse for two years, then joined the GA. Never saw my brother again. Found out a few years ago that they'd abandoned him and he'd starved to death locked inside our apartment."
"I'm so sorry, Eve." Rebecca murmured.
"When that... woman was forcing the spoon in her mouth, I nearly snapped. But your man, Clint, he'd given me a chance. And Lin was so helpless, I just..." She shook her head. "With Fuse in critical condition, I owed it to him to repay the life he left me. Now I owe it to her to look out for him as well. But when he's able to take back over and she no longer needs me, I don't know what I'll do."
"She's your sister now." Yolanda murmured from her chair, yawning. "You made her your sister and she accepted. So you'll always be looking out for her. Besides, someone's got to keep Fuse in check when he gets fresh."
She pulled her legs up, winced, and dozed back off.
"She's right." Rebecca said, getting up from the table and pulling a blanket over Yolanda. "Lin didn't have anyone until Kurokawa. But we each made her a part of our family in our own way. So don't be too worried about the future, I don't think she'll let us go that easily."
Eve nodded and looked back over at them. "I'll make sure to do my job as a big sister this time. No more running away."
"Fuse'd kick your ass if you tried." Yolanda groaned. "Now would you two shut up?"
"You have a room." Eve muttered, but smiled at her squad mate as she grunted turning to face the other way in the chair. "Thanks, Yolanda."
"You saved my ass, not the other way around. Now shut the hell up." She replied after a few seconds.
~
Sebastian watched as Clint comforted the sobbing teen and felt a bitter relief at the sight. He stared down at the device on the table. It was no larger than a grain of rice, but it had made that girl's life a living hell, driving her to kill herself. Its construction had made it invisible to his initial scans and he suspected that that was the point.
"Hey, doc, can I get her out of here?" Clint asked.
"Yes, of course." Sebastian said, giving them his most practiced reassuring smile. "She should get plenty of sleep, so maybe keep her separated from your friends for a few days. They tend to get rambunctious."
"Will do, doc. Thanks." He said, helping her off the bed, murmuring calmly to her as they left the recovery room.
The second the door slid shut, the smile fell from his face as he glared back down at the device before picking up a small hammer and smashing it. "What other secrets are you keeping, brother? What other monsters lurking in the dark?"